Urethane acrylates are known as radiation cured wear layers for flexible surface coverings, e.g. floor tile and sheet flooring. Products and processes using UV curing are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,924,023; 3,935,364; 3,959,521; 4,016,306; 4,075,366; 4,421,782; and 4,138,299.
A wear surface composition, comprising a UV curable, polyester based, urethane acrylate/reactive diluent composition, overcoated (wet-on-wet) with an acrylic acid/water solution containing surfactant during UV curing, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,782. The present invention provides an improvement over the base compositions of U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,782 in terms of gloss retention and stain resistance, without requiring the cumbersome wet-on-wet process.